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MST3K 507 - I Accuse My Parents
The Short The Truck Farmer Synopsis The Truck Farmer (second edition) reveals how the advances of modern technology allow vegetable farming to supply the needs of the American public year-round. Information The term “truck farming” is used to describe the large-scale production and distribution of crops by road or rail. The word “truck” originally referred to the bartering of goods, and then came to mean the process of carrying goods to market, and eventually came to mean the vehicle used to haul the goods. The Movie Synopsis Mild-mannered teen James "Jimmy" Wilson (Robert Lowell) appears before a judge on charges of manslaughter. When asked to speak in his own defense, he pauses and reflects to say, "I accuse my parents" for not giving him the home life he should have had. The film flashes back to a day in high school when Jim was given an award for an essay describing the ideal home he supposedly has. Eager to tell his parents, he goes home to a house full of empty alcohol bottles and parents distracted by arguing with each other. Jimmy is embarrassed when his mother (Vivienne Osbourne) shows up drunk to the graduation planning committee. Later, his father (John Miljan) gives him money instead of celebrating his birthday with him. Jim gets a job selling shoes after school and meets torch singer Kitty Reed (Mary Beth Hughes). He delivers a pair of shoes to her house and then meets her later at the nightclub where she works. The two begin dating, Jim unaware that Kitty is also the moll of gangster Charles Blake (George Meeker), who specializes in fencing stolen jewelry. Blake identifies Jimmy as sufficiently gullible and recruits him to deliver packages and messages after work and school. Jim gets paid highly for his errands, so he never questions what exactly he is delivering. Charles forces Kitty to break up with Jimmy after he realizes that their relationship is becoming serious. Shortly afterward, Jim drives two of Charlie's henchmen to a late-night "errand," which turns out to be a robbery where a night watchman is shot. Realizing what he's gotten involved in, Jimmy turns to his father, who ignores him. Jimmy confronts Blake himself, but Blake threatens to kill him if he does not continue working for him. Later, after the police identify Jimmy as the driver of the getaway car, Blake sends his men to kill Jimmy, but the execution is interrupted by two passersby who happen upon the scene, causing the men to flee and leave behind a beaten Jimmy. Fearing for his life, Jimmy packs a suitcase and spends an indeterminate amount of time hitchhiking and train-hopping. He eventually ends up in a small town where he attempts to rob a diner, but the kindly owner, Al (George Lloyd), recognizes Jimmy as a good boy in a bad situation and offers him safe harbor and a job, as long as he agrees to give up crime and start going to church. After a period of living and working for Al, Jimmy's life straightens up and he confesses to his crimes. Al agrees to accompany Jimmy back home to turn himself in. Back in Jimmy's hometown, Al takes him to confront Kitty, who confesses that she was forced to break up with him. Jimmy then goes to confront Blake one more time, in the hopes that Blake will also turn himself in to help clear Jimmy's name. Blake refuses and instead pulls a gun on Jimmy; Jimmy attempts to wrestle the gun away, accidentally shooting and killing Blake in the process. The police, alerted by Al, storm Blake's hideout and arrest his men, along with Jimmy. Back in the present, the judge, understanding why Jimmy accuses his parents, acquits Jimmy of manslaughter. However, the judge also finds him guilty on charges of possession of stolen property, gives him a five-year suspended sentence and two years' probation and remands him to the custody of his parents until he is twenty-one. The judge then addresses Jimmy's parents (and the camera), warning that any young man could suffer the same fate as Jimmy if left to neglectful parents. The film concludes with a title card informing the audience that the production company is paying all costs to send the film overseas to entertain troops fighting World War II. Information * Produced by PRC, the film was used to teach morals, specifically that parents should take an interest in their children's lives, as well as the consequences (both emotionally and psychologically) of child neglect. * It premiered on November 4, 1944 and was released generally on October 27, 1945. The Episode Host Segments Prologue: With the aid of some pink paint, Tom Servo's wish of becoming a real boy, albeit a naked one, has come true. But it's not all it's cracked up to be. Segment One (Invention Exchange): The Mads try Cake 'n' Shake, an instant stripper in a cake mix, but Frank accidentally baked the stripper inside, while Joel & the Bots invent the junk-drawer organizer. Segment Two: Asking the bots to draw their families, Joel psycho-analyzes the results. It's not good news. Segment Three: Inspired by the movie, Joel & the Bots get Gypsy to help them reenact the nightclub scene from it. Segment Four: What's wrong with Jimmy? Joel and the Bots dig deep into the troubled boy's psyche. Segment Five: Joel and the the Bots reenact the cafe scene from movie, though Crow and Tom choose to switch Jimmy's gun for a tank, and read a letter, while the Mads have finally finished digging out Rodney the stripper. Stinger: "What? What's so funny? asks Jimmy’s mother, as Jimmy’s father laughs at her ridiculous hat. Guest Stars *''Rodney: Bradley J. Keely Trivia * Punk Rock band, The Riverdales have a song called "I Accuse My Parents" and make a direct reference to Mystery Science Theater in their song "I Think About You During The Commercials". *This is the last episode which was used in ''The Mystery Science Theater Hour. *Joel Hodgson, in a June 15, 2010 interview found at www.mondo-video.com, states that his two favorite episodes are Hercules Unchained and I Accuse My Parents. *Ranked 12th in the Top 100 Episodes as chosen by backers of the Bring Back MST3K Kickstarter. It was the highest-ranked episode to feature a movie in black-and-white. * This episode aired ninth during Turkey Day '93, second during Turkey Day '13, and second during Turkey Day '19. Goofs *Sam Newfield did not direct Jungle Goddess as Joel says when Newfield's credit appears. He did direct The Mad Monster (#103), Lost Continent (#208), and Radar Secret Service ''(#520). *During the first half recap in the Mystery Science Theater Hour wrap, Jack Perkins keeps referring to Jimmy as Johnny. *Early versions of the Rhino DVD packaging of this episode had a small goof. It lists the episode number as 424. It got fixed in later printings. Callbacks *A partial "Hi-keeba!" (Women of the Prehistoric Planet) *"Charbroiled hamburgers and french-fried potatoes" (Jungle Goddess) Obscure References *"Charley Varrick is employed!"'' Charley Varrick is a 1970's crime film featuring a crop duster turned criminal. *"Buffy and Hildegard are calling..." Joel refers to the Mads as Buffy and Hildegard. Those were the two female aliases used by the characters played by Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari on the sitcom Bosom Buddies. *''"I Accuse My Parents brought to you by Boone’s Farm."'' Boone's Farm refers to a line of malt beverages and flavored wines. *''"It's Killdozer! Clint Walker, NO!!!"'' Killdozer is a short story by Theodore Sturgeon about a bulldozer that develops a violent mind of its own. In 1974, it was adapted as a made-for-TV movie starring Clint Walker. *''"Teahouse of the August Moon!"'' The Teahouse of the August Moon was a 1956 film starring Marlon Brando. *''"The John Bradshaw Story!"'' John Bradshaw is a pop psychologist widely credited with popularizing the terms "inner child" and "dysfunctional family". *''"Well as long as it's not John Hughes."'' John Hughes was a screenwriter and director who was behind such films as The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink. *''"Part IV: Citizens on Patrol!"'' "Citizens on Patrol" was the subtitle of [[Wikipedia:Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol|the fourth Police Academy movie]]. *''"Sergeant, take the gun and shoot the corporal!"'' A quote from The Manchurian Candidate ''from a scene in which a brainwashed army sergeant is made to shoot an innocent unsuspecting soldier. *"My dad is Gigantor!"'' Gigantor, about a young boy who controls the giant robot of the title, was one of the earliest anime series to be broadcast in the United States. *''"A young Al Bundy!"'' Al Bundy was the protagonist of the sitcom Married... with Children, who worked as a shoe salesman. *''"Cruel shoes!"'' "Cruel Shoes" is a short story by Steve Martin. It was also the title of the collection in which said story was published as a book. * "I never had one myself, enough to remember." "I was torn from the thigh of Zeus." Riff comparing Kitty's absence of a mother to one of the many origin stories of seemingly motherless gods, goddesses and other supernatural beings in Greek Mythology. Dionysus was such a god "torn from the thigh of Zeus"; even though he did have a mother named Seleme and Zeus had him sewn to his thigh after birth. *''"Hey, Walter Lantz!"'' Animator Walter Lantz is best remembered as the creator of Woody Woodpecker. *''"In our audience tonight, Tony 'Big Tuna' Accardo!"'' Tony Accardo was a Chicago mob boss. *''"Jules and Jim!"'' Jules and Jim was a 1962 French film about two bachelors wooing the same woman. *''"Why is she dressed like Major Barbara?"'' Major Barbara is a play by George Bernard Shaw. *''"I lied."'' Joel is imitating Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando. *''"I am the Angel of Death. The day of reckoning is upon us."'' Crow is misquoting a line from the Simpsons episode "Marge Gets A Job". *''"Here, what are you doing in a Cocteau film, boy?"'' Jean Cocteau was a French novelist, filmmaker, and playwright. His films had the same sort of dark, foreboding look as Ingmar Bergman's, but were a bit more fast-paced. *''"But he was able to pick up a ride with the Joad family!"'' The Joads (a displaced farm family who traveled with all of their possessions on a truck) were the central characters in John Steinbeck's dust-bowl novel The Grapes Of Wrath. *"And I fixed your chair, too. It doesn't squeak anymore." Line from the Sidney Poitier/Anne Bancroft 1965 film The Slender Thread. *''"I know I'd go from rags to riches..."'' From the song "Rags to Riches", popularized by Tony Bennett, which is played at the beginning of the movie ''Goodfellas'' as a young Henry Hill begins his career as a mobster. *''"I'm up here, honey, with the DT's! Could you get the yellow lizard out of the bathroom?"'' One of the main effects of Delirium tremens (the DT's) is hallucinations. It's usually associated with withdrawal from alcohol. *"Ah, J. Edgar Hoover goes shopping!" A reference to allegations that the longtime director of the FBI was a transvestite. *''"Oh, it's the three hard-boiled eggs she ordered."'' A reference to a scene in the Marx Brothers' movie A Night at the Opera. *Theme from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patton_(film) Patton]. As the Bots drive their tank off at the end, one of them is heard whistling the theme music from the movie [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patton_(film) Patton], composed by Jerry Goldsmith. In the final host segment, the tank the Bots are piloting has the name 'Anne Blythe' painted on the side. Anne Blythe was the married name of Anne Shirley, a character from the book series Anne Of Green Gables. Video Release *Commercially released on VHS by Rhino Entertainment in October 1997, the episode was also released at the same time as part of a 3-VHS set with The Atomic Brain and Red Zone Cuba. *Commercially released on DVD by Rhino in April 2002. **In May 2018 it was re-released by Shout! Factory in The Singles Collection. ***Special features for the re-released DVD include an introduction by Joel Hodgson, The Man on Poverty Row: The Films of Sam Newfield featurette, and The Mystery Science Theater Hour wraps. *Available for rent or purchase on Amazon's streaming service. External links *[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037798/ I Accuse My Parents] at the Internet Movie Database *''I Accuse My Parents'' at Wikipedia Category:MST3K Episodes Category:Episodes with shorts Category:Season 5 Category:Teen Exploitation Category:Mystery Science Theater Hour Episodes Category:Arnold Schwarzenegger references Category:Unrated movies Category:Directed by Trace Beaulieu Category:1940s movies Category:Crime movies